Why is the VPN connection not working or slow with the PIA App?

Connectivity issues can be caused by a number of things; however most commonly this is caused simply due to a port being used by the application, being restricted or blocked on the network you're connecting over. We've included a very easy way to switch the port being used by the application, to easily remedy such a situation. Please refer to the instructions below on how to change the port being used by the Private Internet Access application while connecting.

Windows/Mac OS/Linux:

1. Right-click on our icon in the System Tray or Menu Bar (Mac OS can also use regular click) 2. Disconnect from the VPN, if connected 3. Right click the icon for the VPN again, and click on Settings 4. Click on the Advanced button 5. Set the Connection type to UDP 6. Change the remote port to 1194, click Save, and reconnect. See if the issue persists. 6.1 If so, disconnect from the VPN, change the remote port to 8080, save, and reconnect. See if the issue persists. 6.2 If so, disconnect from the VPN, change the remote port to 9201, save, and reconnect. See if the issue persists. 6.3 If so, disconnect from the VPN, change the remote port to 53, save, and reconnect. See if the issue persists. 7. If those changes do not help, please go back to the Advanced Settings 8. Disconnect from the VPN, and change set the Connection type to TCP 9. Change the remote port to Auto, click Save, and reconnect. See if the issue persists. 10. Change the remote port to 443, click Save, and reconnect. See if the issue persists. 10.1 If so, disconnect from the VPN, change the remote port to 110, save, and reconnect. See if the issue persists. 10.2 If so, disconnect from the VPN, change the remote port to 80, save, and reconnect. See if the issue persists. 11. If you have been unable to connect this far, enter the number 53 in the Local Port box, and then try each of the settings above again

Android:

Open our application, then click the Settings button in the upper right-hand corner of the window (will appear as an icon of 3 small slider switches).Tap the Remote port option.

Set the remote port to auto, and try connecting.

If that does not work, change the port to 1194, and try connecting.

If that does not work, change the port to 8080, and try connecting.

If that does not work, change the port to 9201, and try connecting.

If that does not work, change the ports to 53, and try again.

If the above ports do not help, enable a TCP connection by checking the box for "Use TCP".

Set the remote port to auto, and try connecting.

If that does not work, try 443.

If that does not work, try 110.

If that does not work, try port 80.

iOS:

Our iOS application uses IKEv1 to connect to the VPN service, as opposed to OpenVPN. As such, there is no way to change the port being used by the iOS application. If you require assistance with the iOS application, please contact support for further assistance, as outlined below.

If you still need help after trying the above, please feel free to contact support by submitting a ticket, and we will respond as soon as possible.